Traditionally quantitative analysis of ultrasound image data has been performed online, i.e., on the ultrasound system itself. Because of the limitation of performing complex analyses within the clinical workflow, quantification has been limited to two-dimensional x-y data such as areas and lengths, and the analysis of Doppler waveforms. This is due primarily, to limited computational speed of the acquisition/display system and patient workflow management. More recently, complex analysis and measurements have been developed for off-line workstations. Current developments in computational speed are allowing the user to access more complex quantitative analysis both on-line and off-line (e.g. at a PC workstation) in a timely manner. The clinical practice is moving away from just anatomical imaging, to imaging methods which provide functional assessment. This information may be quantitative in nature, which gives the clinician access to physiological data in the management of their patients. These users will require tools to assist them in analyzing this information in a time-efficient and reproducible manner.
Despite the increase in computational power to perform more complex analyses on ultrasound images, there is still the need for user interaction with the ultrasound image data. Ultrasound images are typically stored in movie form, called “CINELOOP™ sequences”. Since ultrasound is an inherently real-time imaging modality, CINELOOP™ frame rates are typically in excess of 30 Hz (30 frames/second). Therefore, even a modest 10 second CINELOOP™ contains over 300 image frames.
Accordingly, there exists a need for enabling a user to interact with the ultrasound image data. Specifically, a need exists for displaying two ultrasound images of a CINELOOP™ sequence, where each corresponds to a particular user-selected data point on the same graph or different graphs, for comparison purposes. A need further exists for selecting a region of interest with respect to the two displayed images and displaying parameters associated with the selected region of interest for the two ultrasound images for comparison purposes.